Electrical switches and levers of various types are well known in the automobile art. Typically, these switches or levers have an actuation device that moves the contact element of a first device into engagement with the contact element of a second device. These types of switch assemblies can be the butting type where the electrical contact is pushed linearly into engagement with its corresponding contact, or the sliding or rotating dial type, where the electrical contact is moved along the plane of the corresponding contact from an “off” position to an “on” position.
In the butting type lever, the contacts of the two devices repeatedly engage each other at the same location, where a thin film of non-conductive material can build up over time to prevent a secure electrical connection. This problem can be partially avoided by either coating or making the contacts from a precious metal, such as gold. However, this can be costly.
In the case of the dial type lever, the two contacts are in the same plane so that the contacts of the first device move along the same surface as the contacts of the second device. Similar to the problem with the butting type lever, once the contacts are engaged, the actuation of the dial is typically stopped so that the contacts are repeatedly engaged/disengaged at the same location. This allows a thin film of non-conductive material to build up at the contact point where the contacts repeatedly engage one another.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a contact assembly having a contact that travels vertically onto and off of a corresponding contact pad while moving laterally across the same contact pad to provide a self-cleaning mechanism to prevent unwanted film build up on the contact surfaces. Such a contact assembly would not require a precious metal portion to prevent contamination.